Psychedelics Headlines: MDMA & Coping Skills In PTSD, LSD’s Perceived Risks, Knowledge Gaps, Surveys & More

Welcome to Benzinga’s weekly psychedelics headlines roundup. This is our pick of must-read news items from the second week of January 2024. 

See previous edition: Psychedelics Headlines: Magic Mushrooms For Sexual Wellbeing, The DEA’s Stance, The Therapist’s Role & More

Research

• Lykos Therapeutics (formerly MAPS PBC) published research results on the effects of MDMA-assisted therapy on emotional coping skills and self-experience in PTSD (read.)

• Australian study “Potential therapeutic effects of an ayahuasca-inspired N, N-DMT and harmine formulation: a controlled trial in healthy subjects” (read.)

• The antidepressant effects of vaporized DMT: a preliminary report in treatment-resistant depression (read.)

• Chinese government-backed research on psilocybin’s cell-type-specific changes in the orbitofrontal cortex (read.)

• Perceived risk of trying LSD in the U.S. from 2015 to 2019: Are Americans assessing LSD’s risk profile more favorably? (read.)

• New review on the potential of psychedelics for acquired brain injury treatment (read.)

• Knowledge gaps in psychedelic medicalization: Clinical studies and regulatory aspects (read.)

• Imperial College London’s psilocybin study for gamblers’ brain dysfunction reversion (read.)

• “Coming back together: A qualitative survey study of coping and support strategies used by people to cope with extended difficulties after the use of psychedelic drugs,” research led by Jules Evans (preprint.)

• UC Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelics is opening applications for research proposals on “Psychedelics in Society and Culture” (participate.)

• Imperial College London’s psychedelic survey “The Breathwork Study 2024” (participate.)

• Johns Hopkins’ new psilocybin research seeks participants in Baltimore with opioid use disorder opioid use (apply.)

• University of Texas’ new psychedelic retreat research focused on women currently grieving the loss of a loved one (participate.)

Tune In, Get Smart

• Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, the FDA’s Reagan-Udall Foundation will hold a virtual public workshop titled “Advancing Psychedelic Clinical Study Design” (participate.)

• DoubleBlind’s free workshop on Tripping for Partners with Dr. Ido Cohen takes place on Jan. 21 (participate.)

• “Year in Review: The 12 Best Cannabis/Drug Books of 2023” by Steve Bloom for Celebstoner (read.)

• Wall Street Journal David Wainer’s take on psychedelics investments onwards (read.)

• Carolyn Beans’ review “If psychedelics heal, how do they do it?” with interviewees Dr. Ceyda Sayali and Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu (read.)

• Dr. Peter Grinspoon’s review on ketamine: What is it, how does it help and what are the risks? (read.)

• How to communicate the risks of psychedelics, by Jules Evans (read.)

• “Psychedelics and Philosophy: Metaphysics and Meaning-Making in Psychedelia,” a discussion with Dr. Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes and Prof. Christine Hauskeller at Harvard Divinity School (listen.)

• “Commentary: On the need for metaphysics in psychedelic therapy and research” by David B. Yaden and Katherine Cheung (read.)

• 15 Surprising Statistics About Psychedelic Therapy’s Mental Health Impact, by HealingMaps’ Cory Jones (read.)

• “Psychedelic Law: As the Psychedelic Legalization Debate Rages in the UK, People Suffer” (read.)

• “Strong Bipartisan Support for Controlled Psilocybin Use as Treatment or Enhancement in a Representative Sample of US Americans: Need for Caution in Public Policy Persists” (read.)

• Former KYOAAC leader Bryan Hubbard on Kentucky’s potential for opioid addiction treatment development (read.)

• Wall Street Journal’s review on Elon Musk’s use of drugs, “worrying leaders at Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX” (read.)

• Sam Woolfe’s “Seeing the World Anew: Psychedelics, Child-Like Wonder, and the Will to Novelty” (read.)

• “Addressing Tetany aka Hand Cramps During a Psychedelic Experience: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment” by Psychedelic Spotlight (read.)

• Josh Hardman’s analysis: “The Obscure Advisory Panel Blocking Dozens of Psychedelic Studies in California” (read.)

• “Meet Moxy: The Novel Psychedelic the DEA Tried To Ban” by DoubleBlind (read.)

• “The psychedelic heart: Scientists predict DMT effects from cardiac activity,” by Big Think (read.)

• Vox’s Sean Illing interviewed neuroscientist Gul Dolen on how psychedelics can reinvent the brain (listen.)

• Dennis McKenna Academy’s recent podcast episode interviews author Chris Ryan: “Civilization: Is it worth it?” (listen.)

• Psychedelics Today podcast: “Reinventing organizations, lessons from Burning Man, and Batman & The Joker” (listen.)

• California judge rules against feds in psychedelic tea case (read.)

• Navajo Nation decries funerals on the Moon, by DoubleBlind (read.)

• “A theology of ‘meh’ experiences,” by Jules Evans (read.)

Panorama Pulse

• PharmAla Biotech’s (OTC:PMBHF) MDMA molecule PharmAla-1 received U.S. patent office’s greenlight for fast-track IP application review.

• Lobe Sciences (OTC:LOBEF) released its 2023 review, including 12-month data confirming that L-130 is the first reported stable oral psilocin.

• Usona Institute’s research unveiled novel compounds derived from mushrooms with observed psychedelic-like activity (read.)

• Clearmind Medicine (NASDAQ:CMND) completed a Type A meeting with the FDA for its proprietary MEAI-based molecule for alcohol use disorder treatment.

• PharmaTher Holdings (OTC:PHRRF) expected FDA approval of ketamine would come on April 29, 2024.

• Compass Pathways (NASDAQ:CMPS) and TMS and Spravato provider Greenbrook TMS entered a three-year research collaboration deal to develop scalable, commercial delivery models for psilocybin treatment.

• Jan. 12 was the last day for public comments on the DEA’s recent proposal to make psychedelic compounds DOI and DOC (much used in scientific research) Schedule I substances.

• Cybin (NYSE:CYBN) CEO Doug Drysdale joins Deepak Chopra Foundation on how media shapes public awareness of psychedelics (watch.)

• Atai Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ATAI) CEO Christian Angermayer: “All major psychedelics -and more- in just one company” (read.)

• Atai’s “best-kept secret”: IntelGenX (OTC:IGXT) by Psychedelic Insights (watch.)

• Alex Carchidi’s take on sector catalysts and why Compass Pathways, Cybin and Atai “make the most sense for investors at this point” (listen.) 

• The McKenna Academy’s documentary “Biognosis” has been nominated for the British Columbia Environmental Film Festival.

• Research and education nonprofits Realm of Caring and Unlimited Sciences teamed up with Lily’s Lighthouse to explore the efficacy of functional mushrooms in treating epilepsy in children.

• Author Brandi Sellerz-Jackson shared her ketamine therapy experience in an article published in Oprah Daily.

• Psychedelic art gallery The Chambers Project‘s space in Grass Valley, California will feature an upcoming exhibit “Godfathers: An Exploration Into Psychedelic, Countercultural, Rock & Roll Art History” starting March 9.

Browse publishing house Inner Traditions’ Spring/Summer catalog.